House Call

(DE FLAT) ((DUTCH))

A Polygram release (Netherlands) of a Movies Filmprods./TROS production. Produced by Chris Brouwer, Haig Balian. Directed by Ben Verbong. Screenplay, Jean van de Velde, from an idea by Gijs Versluys.

Roos Hartman ... Renee Soutendijk
Eric Coenen ... Victor Low
Jacy ... Hans Hoes
Davy ... Jaimy Siebel

"House Call" would be ripe for a stateside remake if "Sliver" hadn't snuck in there first. That's a pity, as this watchable Dutch erotic thriller about a professional woman who falls for a maybe-murderer in the same apartment block scores on almost all levels on which the overblown Yank pic bombs, even if it can't match the Paramount production's star power and high-gloss look.

In ordinary circumstances, this could have picked up some offshore coin following the trail of other Dutch genre items like Dick Maas'"The Lift" and "Amsterdamned." Without some highly inventive marketing, its future is more likely to be buff events, hooked by actress Renee Soutendijk's name, and as a dubbed vid item. Helmer Ben Verbong is best known for his debut "The Girl with Red Hair" and the more recent erotic drama "The Indecent Woman."

Soutendijk ("The Fourth Man") plays Roos, an attractive divorced doctor who's just moved into a glass-and-white-tiles apartment building by the sea with her young son, Davy. An early caller is handsome young copywriter Eric (Victor Low), who suspects all is not well with another tenant, Roos' housekeeper. They break into her apartment and find her murdered.

Roos is already being pestered by a heavy breather on the phone, and (unknown to her) by a peeping tom with binoculars. Eric pals up with her son and starts making direct moves on her, and despite warnings from other tenants, she slowly becomes attracted to him.

Meanwhile, the police haul in Eric on suspicion of the housekeeper's murder. There's also the unresolved problem of whether he killed his late wife. Roos' paranoia moves up a couple more notches when another woman inthe block is strangled.

Though the film equally recalls other genre items like John Carpenter's 1977 telepic "Someone's Watching Me!" and the producers claim the script was kicking around long before "Sliver," finished item contains at least a couple of scenes that recall the latter pic. One is even played for laughs, with Soutendijk turning herself on in a bathtub and being suddenly interrupted by her son.

Script makes little attempt to spread suspicion much beyond Eric, but manages to juggle the is-he/isn't-he moods with some skill, helped by fine, equivocal playing by Low. Soutendijk is excellent, bringing mature character to the role of the doc without trying to overreach the script's genre limitations. Sex scenes between the two are hot, and visually frank on Soutendijk's part.

Apart from occasionally muddy processing in some interiors, the movie is technically fine, with classy lensing by Theo Bierkens and atmospheric scoring by Patrick Seymour. Cutting is smooth.

Despite great expectations, pic performed disappointingly on local release. Dutch title translates as "The Apartment Block."

Camera (color), Theo Bierkens; editors, Brouwer, Verbong, Bert Rijkelijkhuizen; music, Patrick Seymour; art direction, Rikke Jelier, Alfred Schaaf; sound (Dolby), Peter Flamman; assistant director, Natasa Hanusova. Reviewed at Dutch Film Festival (competing), Utrecht, Sept. 26, 1994. Running time:106 MIN.

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